Saucier and Perrotte - Scandinave les Bains

Saucier and Perrotte created a relaxation spa centre named Scandinave Les Bains in Montreal.

This spa centre has the particularity to have a thermal therapy experience that engages each of the body senses. Indeed, the aim of the project is to create different experiences that involve the human senses in different ways. 

For that, Saucier and Perrotte combined hot and cold temperature into the bath to create a reaction with the human body. Hence, they installed few white angular masses of glass formation and add to it the porosity of hot volcanic rocks. That part of the project concerns the sense of the touch but the sound, the vision, the smell and the taste are also included in the project.

The sound comes directly from the water. The Architects create cascades and water flows in the baths but also on the glass windows so that from outside we can only see the silhouettes of bathers which keep their intimacy.

The architecture of the building is related to the visual sense. Indeed, the way that the interior design has been created looks like a natural landscape. The floor has been made of wood and has slight undulations that form little inclinations.  The same phenomenon happens on the ceilings. Volumes emerged from the ground to define the steam rooms and baths. Opaque glass widows have been positioned on the existing opening of the buildings to create a natural light, the purity of the space and the intimacy allow bathers to enjoy a moment of tranquillity. 

Mario Botta - Tschuggen Bergoase Spa

The Tschuggen Bergoase has been designed by an internationally renown architect, Mario Botta.

The architect wanted to build a structure which was as natural as the environment surrounding it. In fact this relaxed centre is situated in Arosa in Switzerland amongst  snowy mountains and forests. As a result, he imagined “artificial trees” or leaves, a natural presence that comes out from the building.

The Tschuggen Bergoase spa centre is built on four levels, however all that structure is hiden into the ground of the mountain, only the “trees of light” are visible. Indeed, these artificial trees are all made of glass so that during the day the natural light comes through, contrarily during the night the light of the building creates a magic atmosphere on the mountain.

Mario Botta wanted to keep that space as natural as possible and construct the interior with natural stone bricks. The treatment of lights also characterizes Mario Botta’s work with the search of natural light, reflections on the walls from the water and also dim lighting when the natural light was not enough.

The architect wanted that bathers once inside the relaxing centre have that feeling of serenity and well-being.

Mario Botta made a relaxing centre with many baths where he used the water that comes from the Swiss Alps so the bather is in natural hot water. He used the water element to permit to the bathers to lie on the fluid, be lulled by the sound of the water, in order to relax all the muscle and keeps the stress away.

Ushi Tamborriello - Thermalbad & Spa

Ushi Tamborriello has been the project designer of the Irish-Roman Spa Ritual, which is located in the Termalbad & Spa Centre in Zurich. Those spas have been built in an ancient brewery all made of bricks, which create an antique and quiet atmosphere. The colour of the water and light, the location of the baths and the sound produce a wellness, tranquillity and an intimate moment. Indeed, the architecture of certain pool make the impression to be at the end of a cave with this turquoise water and warm brown, grey wall.

The Irish-Roman Spa Ritual has for concept to recreate the ancient bathing cultures and permit to the bathers to meditate, relaxing and have a unique cleansing ritual. This Spa Ritual is a journey of ten different baths with different themes that procure different experiences. The journey of the Irish-Roman Spa Ritual starts by the reception area where you are provided a towel and a bathrobe, then bathers have to dress up into an appropriate bath suit. After the preparation they are ready to start the ritual in the first pool which is the floral steam bath then the body peel, hot herbal steam bath, hot bath, Roman bath with massage jets, whirlpool, bubble lounger, shallow water area with underwater music, heated lounger, exercise bath and finish by three dry room.

Through these ten rooms, the body knows different statements: wet, warmed, cleaned, relaxed, meditated, cooled and dried.

Ushi Tamborriello used the water because it permits to relax the body and be carried by the movement and sound of water. Furthermore, because she thinks that the different states of water procure different feelings, experiences and actions to the body.

Peter Zumthor - Thermal Bath in Vals

Peter Zumthor is a Swiss Architect and have been recognized for many of his works.

During the 1980’s Peter Zumthor had the project to renovate a bankrupt hotel in a thermal bath in Vals, Switzerland which was opened in 1996. The Thermal bath is located into a hill, more than half of the building is hidden into the hill and the other part reflects a huge rock embedded in the hillside. So with this kind of structure the idea of Peter Zumthor was to create a cave or quarry with indoor and outdoor baths.

Peter Zumthor also wanted to build this thermal baths with local materials that are concrete and Valser quartzite.

The good selection and use of the materials, the creation of the lights and shadows and the system of circulation creates a dynamic spatial concept while at the same time relaxing. Indeed, the path of circulation has been carefully modelled for the bather experience who can explore and enjoy different baths before choosing his predetermined space.

When people enter into the thermal centre, they are going through an underground tunnel and then arrive in the change room, they undressed themselves and go out from the other side of the room ready for bathing. On the main floor are different temperatures baths, showers, resting and meeting area as well as  a massage rooms.

The notions that inspired the architect were the quality of the material, the world of the stone, the darkness and the light with its reflections onto the water or in the steam saturated air, the feeling of the touch between the warm stone and the body but also the ritual of bathing. Peter Zumthor used the element of water and air in a warm state because they are the most suitable elements that permit to be comfortably in the room and relax all the muscles and the mind, to start the meditation.

Between Water and Air

During this semester my project was to create a meditation center and a meditation room where I had to combine a religion and two elements.

My religion: The Sufism

The Sufism is a mysticism of the Islam religion. In the Sufism like in other religions, they have many rituals that help to enter in communication with God. The swirling, breathing, singings are part of the Sufism rituals. But I have been more interested to research about the meditation and breathing subject. The breathe-in means the purification of the body with the pure air of white colour which goes into the body and hunt the carbon which has the image of a dark air when you breathe-out.

My elements: Water and Air.

First of all, these two elements are fundamental to human life, humans breathe air and need water to be hydrated. In addition these two elements are all around the world, people are surrounded by 90% of water and have air all around them. Secondly, these two elements are complementary in fact their molecular structures are very similar and need each other to form the water cycle: the evaporation, the condensation and then precipitation. The water exists everywhere in the atmosphere. In addition the air is one of the fact, which creates the movements on the water, the swell. Finally water is the source of imagination and dreams but also ritual religions.

I chose to put these two elements into my meditation room because I think that these elements can have different states and procure different experiences and activities to the body and the mind. In addition the warm create a well being atmosphere where all the body and the muscles can be relaxed.

With the combination of all those notions I have to create a meditation space with its reception area, the separate male/female change room, toilets and showers, the meeting room, the library and the meditation room.

I imagined my meditation room in two parts. One part full of cold water and the other part full of hot steam. The room is about 12x10x5 all made of glass so people in the corridor or the meeting area can see through the meditation room. In addition, the light which go through, it is a natural light which create an atmosphere of purification. Into the meditation room is disposed six tubes more or less large within a bowl made of glass too. People go above the meditation room and choose a tube. They choose their tube in function of the number of people in fact the different size of tubes has been made to experiment the experience in group or individually. Then people should throw themselves into the thin glass bowls that does not hurt and the bowl with the weight of people is going down more or less rapid, the time to start the relaxation before the meditation into the steam room. Indeed during the experience in the tube people go through the cold water, a clear water and finally arrive into the steam room that is hot and full of grey fog where there is no visibility. People just need to sit down on the ground and continue to relax and meditate in they own space and world.

What is the process to access to the meditation room? After passed by the reception, people go in their respective change room, change their clothes with appropriate clothes. Then they can choose to go directly into the steam room or passed by the tubes first before to go in the steam room. But they can also take their time and go to the library or the meeting area or even have a class with teachers about the meditation before to go into the meditation room.